So, I was getting ready to go to the dragstrip tonight. As I stood there, next to my idling bike, in full gear... I notice some fluid gathering on the ground below it. I run my finger through it and smell it: GAS!! Dammit!!

I pulled the tank and looked for loose/disconnected hoses. None. Fired her back up and looked for leaks. Gas comes gushing out of one of the breather tubes off the carb!!

Stuck float bowl? Covered under warranty?

Stuck float in the float bowl. Try tapping on the bowl with a screwdriver handle or something that won't do any damage, it's alluminum remember.

I'ts a 98 like mine, what warantee :?:

You may need to pull the float bowl and check for crud between the needle and seat.

One year Honda Protection Plan. I got suckered into buying it when I picked up my bike last December. Might as well use it.

If your carbs have a bad case of crud in them from things like stale gas or rust in the tank, you may get some good use out of that Honda Protection Plan.

Nah. The guy at Honda Corp said stuff like that isn't covered because it's not a mechanical defect. It's neglect.

I don't know what's wrong with it yet. I left it at the dealer so they can check it out. If the carbs are gummed, Honda won't pay for it. It sucks not knowing.

most likely dirt in the needle assembly or stuck float, either way, it wont cost you anything to fix it .. well except labor, since you brought it to the dealer.. but you could have easily done it yourself.. if you have any questions pm me.. it really is easy to check the needle valve, time consuming but easy... they will probably charge you 2 hours even though it will really on take em about 30 minutes to an hour at most.. dont let them charge you for more. and if they replace the needle valve assembly it shouldnt be more that 20 bucks .. and probably less.. the ones on dirt bikes are like 10 bucks. hope they are not asses about it....

The needle valve assembly about ten years ago for my 1000 Interceptor was $35.00 each.

your shittin me... well I hope not, but if so, make sure you bring the vasaline..

Talked to the wrench today. Dirty carbs. Cleaning is going to cost about $280. Has anyone else ever had this problem? This bike hasn't sit much since I bought it in December. I put something like 12K on it since then. I think the longest it sat since I've owned it was nearly two weeks. The last time I rode her before I had these carb problems was ten days prior, at trackday. It ran flawlessly all day long! Well, the engine did. Can't say much about the suspension. That still needs a lot of work!

The only prior history I know of this bike is the original owner bought in Michigan. It had 13,954 miles on it when I bought it. I bought it in Phoenix.

Oh, and while the wrench has it all apart, I'm having him install the jetkit. All in all, I believe he said it'll be about $380.

:grin:

Keith-

For the cost of a carb sync tool (40 bucks for the cheap one I bought), a bucket of parts cleaning fluid, and required o-rings, you could do it yourself on a Sat. afternoon. I'd rebuilt the carbs on my FJ a year ago to get my feet wet, and found it was mostly fear of the dark. Thanks to the help here, the carbs on the XX went pretty smoothly.

You'll love what the jet kit does for the power. Wish I could say the same for the mileage, though.

good luck either way.

I have the $40 Motionpro carb synch tool. I just didn't want to take the carbs apart and rebuild them. It's partly laziness and partly lack of work area.

How much did your mileage suffer?

Oh, and I'd like to say that Honda has been pretty cool with this whole ordeal. I talked with some dude from Honda last week when I was trying to find out if they'll warranty my work. He was being as helpful as he could. Monday and today he called me at home to see how the bike was coming along. The shop hadn't looked at it yet, so he said he'd call the shop to see what's up. A few hours after he talked to them, the shop called me to tell me they worked on my bike. Even though Honda isn't paying for this repair, I was pretty impressed at them keeping up with what was going on with my bike.

The biggest improvement I found was the drilling of the slide holes and turning the pilot screws out to 2 1/2 turns. No fuel economy penalty, 40 MPG with great running, no hesitation.

You probably have the problem solved by now--but for those that may have a similiar problem---I did ('97 XX)and it turned out to be a pluged hose that is supposed to vent the carbs. I put on new hoses--problem gone. I know this post isn't very clear---but it has been a long time ago and a whole lot of white lines have passed since then. Good Luck---happy trails kel

Well, mine weren't plugged, as fuel was spilling out of these lines!

But thanks for posting your problem. Perhaps, we can help someone else more quickly diagnose their problems.

Keith-

I completely understand about the laziness/not wanting to strip things apart thing. Did mine in January. It was that, or do laundry...

As for mileage, can't say it's an apples-to-apples comparison, because I whack the throttle like a madman now, due to the increase in power/torque. Anywho, my best with the stock config, stock pipes was 43 mpg, but usually about 38. So far, my best with the stage I kit (went with the larger mains, 3rd land from top on needles), and 2 bros slipons is 34 on a long trip, but usually 29-32 on day outings.

I'm moving to Denver next month, so I'm gonna hafta rejet again, but seriously thinking about going back to stock needles, as (hopefully), most of my riding will be LOOOONG weekend rides thru the mountains, and don't wanna be pulling over for gas every 120 miles.

The kit really did change the personality of the bike though. Even with the decreased mileage, I'd still do it again.

cheers
chad

I have a sick bird at idle and low RPM. No power and lots of vibration under 35000rpm. Seems from reading these forums that it might be carb and/or plug problem. Had the same platinum plugs for 17,000kms now.

Iti didn't just happen - has been a growing concern for over 2 months. Bad at cold start but was getting better when she'd warmed up. Now no amount or warming up takes away the problem.

Pulled the plugs and cylinder one's plug is a bit dark and sooty. The other 3 were a bit wet but only damp around the outside, the electrode themselve were a pretty nice brown to black colour.

I'm going to replace the plugs in the morning and see if this makes a difference.

:pointup: If my bike turned 35Krpm, I'd be able to hit 525mph! (just teasin' ya!) :lol: